1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalyst for a fuel cell, a method of preparing the same, and a membrane-electrode assembly and a fuel cell system including the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a catalyst for a fuel cell capable of providing a high performance fuel cell, a method of preparing the same, and a membrane-electrode assembly and a fuel cell system including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel cell is a power generation system for producing electrical energy through the electrochemical redox reaction of an oxidant and a fuel such as hydrogen or a hydrocarbon-based material such as methanol, ethanol, natural gas, or the like.
Representative exemplary fuel cells include a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) and a direct oxidation fuel cell (DOFC).
The direct oxidation fuel cell includes a direct methanol fuel cell which uses methanol as a fuel. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell is an environmental-friendly energy source for replacing a conventional energy source. It has advantages such as high power output density and energy conversion efficiency, operability at room temperature, and being down-sized and closely sealed. Therefore, it can be applicable to a wide array of fields such as non-polluting automobiles, electricity generation systems, and portable power sources for mobile equipment, military equipment, and the like.
The fuel cell can be classified into a gas-type fuel cell and a liquid-type fuel cell depending on which kind of fuel is used.
The gas-type fuel cell, which generally uses hydrogen as a fuel, has an advantage of a high energy density, but it also has problems of needing to carefully handle hydrogen gas and requiring accessory facilities such as a fuel reforming processor for reforming methane or methanol, natural gas, and the like in order to produce hydrogen as the fuel gas.
On the contrary, a liquid-type fuel cell, which uses a liquid fuel, has a lower energy density than that of the gas-type fuel cell, but it has the advantages of easy handling of the liquid-type fuel, a low operation temperature, and no need for additional fuel reforming processors. Therefore, it has been acknowledged as an appropriate system for a portable power source for small and common electrical equipment.
In the above fuel cell, the stack that generates electricity substantially includes several to scores of unit cells stacked in multiple layers, and each unit cell is formed of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and a separator (also referred to as a bipolar plate). The membrane-electrode assembly has an anode (also referred to as a fuel electrode or an oxidation electrode) and a cathode (also referred to as an air electrode or a reduction electrode) attached to each other with an electrolyte membrane between them.
In general, the anode and the cathode use platinum as a catalyst, in various types. Particularly, in a DOFC, a Pt catalyst that is not supported on a carrier is used to achieve a highly active membrane-electrode assembly. In a PEMFC, much work is being undertaken to obtain high cell efficiency by positioning the catalyst layer more closely adjacent to a membrane and reducing the thickness of the catalyst layer.
Nano-sized platinum catalysts are generally prepared using carbon or another carrier. However, since a catalyst in a direct methanol fuel cell is Pt black or a platinum alloy that is not supported, a material such as a surfactant should be used so as to prepare a nano-sized catalyst. However, in the case of using such a surfactant, a size of a catalyst particle can be controlled to a certain degree, but it is very costly. Particularly, an alloy catalyst is more difficult to prepare. It is also difficult to remove the surfactant from the resultant product completely and the removing process is complicated. The remaining surfactant may poison the catalysts. Even if the surfactant is removed completely, the prepared catalysts are not preferable in terms of utilization efficiency since they are instable and they aggregate to form a massive platinum particle catalyst.